Jason Delgado
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday he’s received no reports of major storm damage, injuries or deaths after Florida’s first brush Tuesday with Tropical Storm Elsa.
Overnight, Elsa delivered heavy rain and winds to all of west Florida. And while the storm is projected to shift west across Florida’s Big Bend region later today, DeSantis spoke optimistically about its limited impacts thus far.
“I ask Floridians to simply be safe and use common sense,” DeSantis said at the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee. “All things considered… I think the impacts have been less.”
As of Wednesday morning, Elsa was located roughly 35 miles west of Cedar Key and traveling north at 14 miles per hour.
Forecasters expect the storm to continue north until late afternoon, when models show it turning eastward to make landfall near Florida’s Big Bend Region.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Elsa is producing sustained winds of 65 miles per hour that extend 89 miles from the storm’s center.
It’s likely storm surge will impact some normally dry areas of the state and flooding in the big Bend area, the NHC added.
DeSantis urged new Florida residents to exercise caution during storm recovery. Department of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie, meanwhile, encouraged Floridians to document storm damage with photographs.
“If this is your first rodeo, just please heed the warnings about handling power outages and handling some of the issues with your yard or with your debris because the last thing we want to see is any type of injuries or fatalities for that,” DeSantis said.
Notably, Elsa will arrive in Florida again Wednesday as one of the first storms to make landfall over the state during the 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season.
DeSantis noted that weather experts forecast above average storm activity during the season and encouraged Floridians to make preparations now,
“There is going to be more activity,” DeSantis said. “We don’t have anything on the horizon, but people just need to be prepared. As these storms come, we’re going to have to deal with them.”
